The invention relates to the industries of leisure, recreation, and aesthetic appearance of water arrangements in pools, ponds, or spas and, more particularly, to the field of decorative waterfalls or fountains for water pools, ponds, or spas in these industries.
For aesthetic appearance, waterfalls or waterfall arrangements are often used in a swimming pool, pond, spa, or the like. The water is often drawn from the pool and passes over the edge of a wall or a weir of the pool. Various configurations of these waterfalls have been developed over the years. Some of the waterfalls include pumping or drawing water into a lower portion of a body of the pool or basin structure and allowing the water to fall from an upper portion thereof as the water fills or continues to fill the body. The water falls or descends over an edge of a wall or opening to another pool of water or conduit positioned at a lower elevation. Some examples of such waterfalls can be seen in U.S. Pat. No. 5,309,581 by Lockwood et al. titled xe2x80x9cWater Steam Apparatus,xe2x80x9d U.S. Pat. No. 5,388,285 by Belniak titled xe2x80x9cSwimming Pool Waterfall,xe2x80x9d and U.S. Pat. No. 5,537,696 by Chartier titled xe2x80x9cApparatus For Producing Sheet Waterfall For Pool Or Spa.xe2x80x9d Problems with controlling the water flow into, through, and from the body of the pool or spa continually need to be more efficiently addressed, including in different types or style structures. Additionally, aesthetic appearance of these waterfalls are often desired by those in the industry as well as owners of the waterfalls.
Generally rectangular-shaped waterfall basins also are known where water flows into a lower portion thereof and out from a pair of spaced-apart lips positioned along an upper portion thereof An example of such a waterfall apparatus can be seen in U.S. Pat. No. 4,881,280 by Lesikar titled xe2x80x9cWaterfall Producing Unit For Use In Swimming Poolsxe2x80x9d and U.S. Pat. No. 5,249,744 by Ruthenberg titled xe2x80x9cApparatus For Creating Waterfall For Swimming Pools.xe2x80x9d These known waterfall basins or bases, however, have problems, for example, with the lips breaking by excessive pressure thereon such as during installation, the lips causing handling problems, or the lips not remaining secure to the base when positioned thereon.
In view of the foregoing background, the present invention advantageously provides a waterfall apparatus and associated method for more efficiently controlling water flow within and from a waterfall arrangement. The present invention also advantageously provides a waterfall apparatus and associated methods which enhance the aesthetic appearance of waterfall arrangements. The present invention additionally advantageously provides a design and construction of a waterfall apparatus which can be mass produced less expensively and more easily handled and installed in various installations. The present invention further provides a waterfall apparatus having an outlet portion thereof which detachably secures an outlet region, e.g., such as provided by a pair of spaced-apart lips, to a base thereof.
More particularly, an embodiment of the present invention provides a waterfall apparatus comprising a water confining base, the base including a bottom and a plurality of upwardly extending side walls connected to said bottom, a first one of said plurality of side walls extending upwardly from said bottom a greater distance than a second one of said plurality of side walls, a water inlet connected to a lower portion of the base for providing a path of travel for water entering the base, a water outlet connected to an upper portion of the base. The present invention also includes the water outlet including an upper lip connected to the first one of the plurality of side walls and extending outwardly therefrom, and a lower lip spaced-apart from the upper lip, connected to the second one of the plurality of side walls, and extending outwardly therefrom so that water positioned within said base flows between the upper and lower lips and outwardly and downwardly therefrom. A water flow guiding arm is connected to an upper portion of one of said plurality of side walls of the base and extending downwardly at a predetermined angle therefrom into the inner confines of the base to provide a water flow path of travel from the water inlet, around the guiding arm and from the water outlet, the predetermined angle being less than 90 degrees, and a removable screen extends from the guiding arm and transversely extends to the base.